James
by aph.wank
Summary: Team Rocket was prepared to fight, fight, fight! But when a mishap happens to spoil their plans, the blame is put on James like always. He is used to the bullying from his teammates but never insult his Pokemon.


"Protecting the world from devastation-"

"To unite all people within our nation-"

"To pronounce the meaning of truth and love-"

"To extend our reaches to the stars above-"

"Jessie-"

"James-"

"Team Rocket blasts off at the speed of light!"

"Surrender now or prepare to fight, fight, fight!"

"Meowth! That's right!" Team Rocket recited their signature lines in perfect form from immaculate practice. Pride flowed through the team's veins every time they spoke these lines, no matter how many times they have failed in the past, they were resilient and proud of their strength.

"Team Rocket! What do you want now?" Ash Ketchem demands angrily, but also not surprised since they make an appearance at least once a week.

"Your cute little Pikachu, of course!" Jessie chimed in a sing-song voice, James backing up her statement with a confident nod and girn.

"You'll never get Pikachu!" Ash said right on time, almost like they were all reading from a script. The mouse Pokemon perched on his shoulder crackled with defensive electricity that would be no doubt coursing through Team Rocket's bodies soon enough.

"Hand him over, Twerp!" James said in return, pointing dramatically at the pair, readying himself for a very predictable battle.

"Never!" Ash yelled, "You'll never have my Pikachu!"

Jessie laughed shrilly, Meowth taking the cue to lunge at the electric Pokemon, tackling it to the hard and dusty ground. A volt of electricity instantly rocked through Meowth's body, momentarily leaving him stunned and jumping back to attention, ready from the next attack as a battle began to ensue.

"Go Weezing!" Shouted James, throwing his Pokeball and the poison Pokemon breaking free from its confines, murky fog poured from its mouth, filling the clearing and making it almost impossible to see. The fog was suffocating and blinding, causing everyone's eyes to water and they began to cough. Through all this confusion, Ash and Pikachu made a hasty getaway, leaving the team choking on their own Pokemon's attack. James called Weezing back into his ball in attempts to clear the fog, but by that time, Ash and his pokemon were long gone.

"James you idiot!" Jessie yelled, causing James to flinch and nearly cower with the power and anger in her voice, fearing to be hit.

"You let them get away!" Meowth added, his paws crossed firmly over his chest, instantly taking Jessie's side.

"I'm sorry! I thought Weezing had it this time," he frowns, feeling the shame wash over him. The disappointment and anger on both their faces made his skin crawl and his heart sink. This was not new, most of the blame seemed to always be placed on the Team Rocket member in one way or another. He questioned for many years now whether if he was truly incompetent like they drill into his head nearly every day. He prided himself on his strength, resilience, and confidence he glowed with on a daily. The inside, however, was a mess of insecurities and fear that he was desperately trying to cover when he was working. Whether it was his fault or not, he would never blame his loyal and loving Pokemon, it was never the Pokemon's fault but their trainer if they are not battling or behaving well. Maybe that was another thing James lacked at, he thought.

"Your Weezing is useless!" she argued back, breaking James from his thoughts and filling him with defensive anger.

"You take that back!"

"No one told you to bring that useless excuse for a Pokemon anyway."

"And no one told you to bring that nasty attitude but now I have to deal with it too!" he spat back at her, their noses pressed against each other while they were yelling.

"Can it, will ya?" Meowth broke between them, pushing the pair's legs away from each other with both paws.

"Both of you are losers, can we move on now?" he glared at them, feeling he did nothing wrong and he was absolutely perfect and it was his team members who failed this time. At least they weren't blasting off this time, just choking on poisonous gas.

"Losers?!" they yelled in unison and turning on the cat Pokemon, causing him to flinch at the sudden redirection of frustration.

"You're right, you're right," he quickly back-peddled, "Jame's messed us up!"

"There. That's more like it," The magenta haired teen with a huge superiority complex said, her arms crossed over her chest.

"What!" he drawled out in disbelief and betrayal.

Before the argument could continue, there was a rumble in the bushes surrounding them in the clearing. The trio froze, trying to pinpoint the sound, figuring whether it was a danger or not. Although, with their track record, a rumble was never a good sound. The sound intensified, sounding like a flurry of motorcycles, and before they could run nets blasted out from the bushes towards them.

James had to think quickly, jumping out of the way and summoning the so-called "useless" Weezing out again. From the sound of the shouts, both Jessie and Meowth were caught in the cross-fire of the nets, not getting away in time. He paused in his escape into the brush, about to turn tail and help his friends. He was frozen, half-hidden in the thicket. Where they really his "friends?" There was perhaps a handful of times where they would do something helpful, bordering on nice, but besides that, they were nothing but nasty and degraders. This was his chance. Maybe he could finally live his life away from Team Rocket, live in a happy home surrounded by happy Pokemon and reunited with Growlie. He could grow apricorns in his back garden, donating to make completely natural Pokeballs, or berries he could sell to the local Pokestop. For once in his life, he can decide what he wants, not be forced to fight day after day, getting blasted away or being forced to marry someone he does not love. For once having a nice bed and not laying on the hard dirt floors in a campout and train his beloved Pokemon in peace.

"Weezing, use smokescreen," James whispered before he could change his mind. He was doing this for him and his Pokemon. The bullying stopped today. Weezing let out his smokescreen as quietly as he could, following James into the forest, knowing their lives were about to get a lot better.


End file.
